Numbering-machine.



1. H. RElNHARDT.

NUMBERING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 28. I9I4.

MM' UIMAYSQI:

m i by WM @Mm Atty Patented Mar. 14, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

1 H REINHARDT NUMBERING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 28| 1914.

W Inventor:

02W by Atty.

iinirr earns rafra- JAMES H. BEINHARDT, 0F EAST ORANGE, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO AMERICAN BANK NOTE COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

NUMBERING-MACHINE.'

To 'all whom it may concern."

'Be it known that L'JAMns H. REINHARDT,

a citizen of the United States, residing lat East Orange, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful improvements in NumberingLlMIaChines, of which the'following is as p'eciication, reference being had therein to the"accompanying drawings, which'et'orm ya part therein. p 'y' My inventiongrelatesto numbering ma.- ehines, and'more particularly to atype of such machines wherein the mechanismk for actuating the digit wheelsof the numbering heads, is soconstructed asto avoid the neces l sity for cutting or channeling the surface of the inling roller. 'In a machinev of-this` inoi-'etimes during each rotation of the drum, f f

by the impact of a plunger carried by each head and projecting beyond' theprinting face of the characters upon the digit wheels, with one or more fixed 'abutin`ents,' a construction which necessitates the cutting or `chai'ineliiig of they inling rolleig'and perber-ing heads. may. not-@only be adjusted cir-M mits only a circumferential adjustment of t the numbering heads.- Furthermore, the

:torce of the impact is suiiicientlyfgreat'l and sharp to cause excessive wear upon vtheparts oi the head, and tendtoward a loss of alinement throughthe overrunning of they digit wheels. f yBy my present invention, I aim to secure a numbering machine whereinthey actuating means for the various numbering heads will be disposed below the printing yface of the digit wheels, thus avoiding a construction necessitating/the cutting or `channeling of Vthe inking roller, while atthe sametime in-kk suring reliability in the actuation of the numbering heads; y

By a construction such as that shown in the accompanying ldrawings and contem` plated by my invention, the various num- MSipe'eicatti'on of Letters i. Rial', 14,1, 1916, iippiieaii'oa med February as, 1914; seriaiiio; 821,644.Y i v l i ycumferentially of the axis of the drum, they may also be adjusted axially thereof by j reason of the fact that the absence of a channel in the inking roller avoids a condition wherein the numbering heads must bear a fixed relation to/said inking roller.` In the type of machine'now commonly used, an axial adjustment of the heads necessitates the employment*r of a new inking roller. Each ynumbering head of a set or sequence is'ouerated by independently operative actuating means the saine means preferably being employed for actuating the corresponding' `head of other sets or se-fiuences when a plurality of such are used. To permit an equal spacing of the various numbering heads of each set or sequence while at'the same time permitting a variance in their spacing,'the actuating means must be I so constructed that whatever the spacing may be, eachY numbering head willbe broughtl within the operative range `oi an actuating means. I also, by my invention,

provide means whereby any actuating sired.

To prevent the impact of sharp blows means may be rendered inoperative if deupon the actuating plunger of the variousk numbering heads, 'the actuating means is" placed under the control of a plurality of oppositely disposed cams, the riser or risers` of' which is or are oi a pitch to impart a` gradualmovement to said plunger after the 1 numbering' head t0 be actuated. has left the printing position, and before it is in' the op# erative relation to the inking mechanism. Preferably these cams are so constructed that the riser portion thereof may be removed and exchanged for a different portion, employing one or more risers according to whether the numbering heads are to be actuated once or a plurality'ot' times upon each rotation of the drum. Inasinuch as the actuating means for the numbering heads always bears a fixed relation to its numbering heads with the exception of that movement thereof under the control of the cams, means must be provided for supporting said `actuating means which supporting means will haverotary Amovement with the drum` while'at the same time permiting that free reciprocatory movement of the actuating means v essential to the timely actua# tion of the numbering heads. To facilitate the mounting of the numbering heads'upon the drum, I provide means whereby said drum may be rotated independently of the driving means therefor, interlocking means being provided whereby after the desired' adjustment of the drum has been eecte'd said drum may. be secured firmly to Vsaid driving means in its adjusted position, thus permitting not only the movement of the drum independently of said driving means,

but any desiredy adjustment of the drumV with relation thereto.. Under some condi tions, it Vis desirable to permit the drum to rotate Without a resulting actuationof any of the numbering heads and to meetthis condition it, is essential that means be provided whereby the cams controlling the actuating means for the numbering heads may be rendered inoperative at the will of the operator, a condition provided for b-y my invention.

My invention consists primarily in a numbering machine embodying therein a drum adaptedv to carry a set or sequence of numberingheads', a plurality of numbering heads, mounted thereon, a Vpluralityiof independently .operative actuating means each L acting upon a vnumbering head and means common. to all of said actuating means Y whereby they. are successively operatedl to actuate their respective numbering heads after leaving the printing position, and before reaching the inking position, and in such other novel features of construction and combination of parts as'arev hereinafter set forth and described` and more particu-V larly pointed out inthe claims hereto ap ipended. Y Y, j y A i Referring to the drawings: Figurev 1 is a .side elevation of anumbering machine embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a section onthe line 2 2 of Fig. 1i; Fig. 3 isa Ysec-V tion on the lineB-S of Fig. l; Fig. l is a detailed vievvv of onefof the cammechanisms; Fig.` 5. is asection on the line 5--5 of Fig. l; Fig.` 6v is a detailed view of one of the actuating means; Fig. 7 is asection on the line 7 7 of Fig. l; and Fig. 8 is a detailedvieW of the means forjrendering` the camsinopn erative.V

Like letters refer to lilrepartsithroughout such` drums and the number of heads upon each drum may. vary. Said drums arevcapavbleof being shifted. axially of the shaft b and said heads are adapted to bei shifted- Y circumferentially of their drums, tok permit said heads to be adjusted to adapt the machine for Work upon different lots Vof Work. At f, I have shown an impressionroller which is cylindrical in form and `of the same diameter throughout, the construction of the machine being such that the numbering heads may be actuated by lmeans Which will obviate the necessity for cutting or channeling the inking roller orrollers. The impression roller f is provided With the usual gripper mechanism f.

Each of the drums a sequence of circumferentially spaced openings a, 13 g2, g3, g4, g5, 96, 9% and g8, extending therethrough each of'Which openings is adapted to receive Van actuating mechanism which is operative independently of other'y similar mechanisms and upon only that num-Y bering head mountedv adjacent thereto. Ordinarily. a plurality of sets or sequences of numbering headsvis employed and hence the openings gto g8 of the respective drums should be alined with eachother fso that actuating means common to the correspond` ingfnumbering head ofthe different sets or sequences may be used. 'Mounted in eachset of openings'g togS is an actuating bar h, 7L",

7b2, 71.3 714, 71,5, 7a, 7&7, or las adapted to have movement radially of said drum and to act uponl the plunger e of the numbering head adjacent thereto. As vvilllmorelfully appear" hereinafter these bars areindependently operativeso that the povver required to'change or advance the numbering Yheads ,will be reduced toa minimum. Itivilly also appear that, the movement of said bars Will be Yso gradual as to avoid any sharp impacts While ,Y

insuring` aytimely actuation/of the number. ing` heads. Y l

Supporting the several actuatingl bars h to he are aplurality of disks r7?-1" mounted upon and rotatable With the shaft Z7 so as to have `movement With the various drums, said disks having therein radial slots adapted toV receive the stems of the bars 7L to- 71,8 so as to permit 'the freereciprocatoryzmovement of said bars and at the same time relieveY the various ydrums from any strains from'said actuating means. Each ofthe disks j-j, is provided with Va sequence of radial slots'c, 7c', 702, 7c3, 7a4, 705, 706, 707, and 73S and openings therethrough adapted to permit the insertions or removal of the enlarged heads of said bars. The said openings are indicated by the references Z, Z2, Z3, Z4, Z5, ZG, Z7, and Z8.

To facilitate-the circumferential adjustment of the Vvnumbering heads c upon their drum, I, provide each actuating bar with a circumferentially extending enlarged head z', i, i2, 3,414, 5, 6, z', or 8, the outward or contact surface ofvwhich extends upon a curve concentricvvith the periphery of theV drum. To adapt the machine to di'erent classes of work necessitating a different spacing of the numbering heads-in each set or sequence, the openingsy g togs and Z'to s and the heads c' to 8 vary in length as shown.

Mounted adjacent the disk y" is a cam m and mounted adjacent the disk j, is a cam n, the ends of' the respective bars to hs projecting beyond said disks and carrying anti-friction rollers coperatiiig with vsaid cams respectively. Normally these cams have a fixed relation to the drum, although, as will appear hereinafter means are preferably provided whereby said cams may be permitted to rotate with said drums and the shaft b so as to permit the actuation of the' machine without a resulting change of the numbering heads.

In the use of the numbering machines, it is sometimes necessary to skip or change the numbering heads two or more times with each rotation of the drums and to meet this condition I so construct thev cams inf-n that one 0r more risers maybe used according to the number of times it is desired to actuatel the numbering heads with each rotation thereof. rIliis construction, as shown more particularly in Figs. 3 and 4. comprises a sectional cam, the main part of which has a segmental groove m, concentric with the axis of the cam, and an extension m2 having an opening m3 therethrough which opening is adapted to permit the removal or asseinbly of any of the actuating bars fito its. Detachably secured to said extension m2 is a removable cam section m4 having a groove therein containing one or more risers m5 and m6. This removable section has a bearing therein adapted to straddle the shaft b, said bearing opening outwardly so as to permit the mounting or demounting of said section upon said shaft. Means as the bolt holes mi are provided by means by which said section may be firmly secured to the main body of [the cam. Pivotally mounted upon the sec- *ftion mt is a swinging member m8 carrying a closure plate m9 adapted to enter the slot m1 in the section m4 and close the opening m3. The section m4 is provided with an D opening'm11 adapted to register with the opening m3. The swinging member ms forms the outersurfac'e of a portion of the cam groove. i i f To permit the turning of the drums in- Vdependently of the main gear c, I provide lsaid gear with .a fdisk o having a series of screw-threaded openings as o, 02, 03, 04, 05, o, 07, 08, and 09, therein; and mount' the gear c loosely upon the `shaft To make ythis gear operative,kit is connected to said disk as by means of the screw bolt y) passing through an opening in the gear and coperating with any of the openings 0 to 09 It will thus be observed that by removing ther `bolt p, the shaft carrying the various' drums maybe'turned to any desiredextent,

the openings 0 to 09 permitting it to be locked with relation to the gear c in any position which will bring an actuating bar directly below the printing point of the iinpression roller.

It quite frequently happens that it is desirable to prevent the actuation of the numbering heads while the machine is running, and to meet this condition7 I provide means for normally preventing rotary movement of the cams ivi-n, or in other wbrds, for holding them in a fixed position relative to the drums d to Clt, which means, however, are operative to release said drums and permit the free rotation thereof. To secure the desired results this means must be so constructed that when it is desired to again actiiate the numbering heads, its movement may be such as to so position the risers of the cams as to insure a timely actuation of the numbering heads. In the form 0f the invention shown, this mechanism comprises the stop levers (j, each having a stop arm g" adapted yto be projected into the path of a stud r carried by each cam 'm or n. These levers are adapted to be actuated by a link s which may be controlled in any desired man ner. To minimize the effect of the impact of the studs r with the stop arms g', I mount upon each lever g a compressible spring projected retard t adapted to be engaged by a stud r and bring the cam to a gradual stop upon this engagement with the stop arm q. The end of this retard is spaced away from the arm g sufficiently to hold the cams firmly in position except when the levers g are actuated to release the cams. rljhe inking mechanism is shown conventionally at u.

The operation of the herein described ma.- chine is as follows: Assuming that the machine has been properly set for a run, power is applied to the shaft by the gears c through the disk o. In turning, the shaft b will carry with it the disks and all of the drums CZ, d, (Z2, (Z3, and d, and any other ynumber of drums which may be mounted upon said shaft. The various bars t, it', ft2, h3, lit, h5, 71,6, 71?, and 71,8 will also be carried around with the disks j/'-j, theY relation of said bars to their respective iiuin-v bering heads c and all numbering heads upon corresponding radii or the respective drums, remaining constant. The cams m-n,

remaining fixed. the various rollers carried by said bars will travel in the groove of said cams and impart a reciprocatory movement to said bars at a time and to an extent determined by the position and configura.- tioii of the risers of said cams. As each row of numbering heads approaches the inlc ing mechanism, these rollers will ride upon a circular portion of the cams, thus permit ting inking of the digit wheels just prior to making of an impression and preventing movement of 'sai'ddigit wheels until vafter in position whereupon the bolt 0 is replaced. v

such imprint has been made. After the making of the imprint the continued rotation of the drums Z to d* and disks j--j will bring the antifriction rollers of said bars into engagement with the riser or risers of the cam, thus imparting thereto one or more reciprocations sufficient to actuate the numbering heads. The bars It, h', h2, h3, if, h5, h6, if, and ILS will be brought into operative relation to the riser or risers of the cams successively, so that the numbering heads will be actuated one row at a time and each row will be actuated independently of every other row. This actuation of the numbering heads will occur after the making of the imprint and before the numbering heads reach the inking mechanism. If it be desired to make any actuating means inoperative, this result may be secured by removing the rollers from the vbar and if desired the entire bar may be removed from this .relation to the drums through the opening in either disk .j or y andV either cam m or n. The enlarged heads i to s of the bars 71. to LS being between the disks j-j, they are free to reciprocate, the stems of said barsbeingguided by the slots in said disks. VThe drums l to (Z4 being adjustably set upon the shaft l), a lateral or axial spacing of the numbering vheads may be'secured' by -merely shifting the drums along the shaft and keying ory clamping them in position. To adjust the heads cir cumferentiallyfof the-drums is more difficult,

^` however. To meet this condition, the heads i to s are successively increased in circumferential length thus permitting the differ.- ential spacing of succeeding heads kto compensate for the cumulative movement necessary to* preserve requality of the spaces between succeeding .,lieads. The machine shown in the drawings is designed to ac-V commodate five heads only, and with thearrangement of actuating bars shown, any desired spacing .may be secured. If the spacing between succeeding heads be so great that any one head will not be within the operative range of one of said bars, the bolt may be removed, and the disk 0 turned, carrying with it the drums CZ to- Z4 and disksV j-j, until the desired bar is below the .print This shiftingofthe drums preserves the proper timing of the actuation of the Vnumbering heads with relation to the printing interval. Furthermore, the shifting of theA actuating bars variesv the position of the heads z' to s with relation to the cams m-fn, and presents different areas of contact surface, so that the numbering heads may be differently spaced and yet be within the operative range of one of said bars. For example,if it be desired to increase the distance between succeeding numbering heads e, the one vacted lupon by l the bar hwould 'bemoved to the left, Fig. 2, to an amount equalizing the desired increase. The numbering head acted upon by the bar z/ would not be disturbed. The numbering head acted upon would be moved to the same extent as the first head e but in the opposite direction. The succeeding head would be moved twice the distance of ,the last named head, while the ifth head would be moved three times that distance. Hence if one of the heads, for instance, the fourth, when moved would not be positioned above the bar ha, Ybutbetween it and the bar h4, it would be necessary to shift the bars so that the first head would be acted upon by the bar h2, the different spacings and dimensions vof the heads of the bars l'being such that one of said bars vwould act upon each head. The heads z' to s are made of dif.- ferent lengthsbecause of the different quantities of movement of succeeding heads in effecting a change of the spacings thereof. If it be desired to increase the number of numbering heads, the drums may be rotated so that `the desired spacing ofthe desired number of heads can be secured, although twoheads might come within the operative range of a sin glefactuating bar. This, while not entirely desirable, is unobjectionable.r If it be desired, therollers vof any bar h to its or the entire bar maybe removed through the openings m3 and will, the member fm,B

being swung outwardly to remove the closure plate m9. `In the event that it bedesired to'substitute `a cam ,having one Ynumber of risers for that having another VTnurnber, the change may be quickly lmade by removing the section `m including its swing-V ingmember ms and replacing it with another section Vhaving a differently shaped cam groove. Itwill be observed that the section m in thecam section m is a segment of a true circle, and is of sufficient length to prevent any movement of ,the numbering head actuating means during and between the inking and printing intervals and that the stop Varms q -will always insure the proper positioning of this cam sectionvwith relation to the inkingmechanism and the impression roller. The cams Vm--fa maybe released so astohave rotary movement with the shaft by merely depressing .the levers g. This is desirable vwhen setting the Anumbering heads, or when the operator has stopped feeding the machine. By using cams having long risers of low pitch, any

excessive jars upon the number .headI actuating `plunger and digit wheels are avoided,

Gmb-@dimer 0f .the nvlestien'areble ef many changes without departing from the the spirit' and scope of my invention.

Having described theinvention, what I claim as new and desire to have protected by Letters Patent is l. A numbering machine embodying therein a plurality of rotatable drums adapted respectively to carry a set or sequence of numbering heads, a plurality of numbering heads mounted upon said drums respectively, a plurality of independently operative actuating means, rotatable with said drums, each having a circumferentially elongated head acting upon the corresponding numbering head on each of said drums, whereby said numbering heads may be adjusted circumferentially,of said drums, and means common to all of said actuating means whereby they are successively operated to actuate their respective numbering heads, after leaving the printing position and before reaching the inking position.

2.' A numbering machine embodying therein a main shaft, a drum adapted to carry a set or sequence of numbering heads mounted upcn and rotatable with said shaft, a plurality of numbering heads mounted thereon, cams loosely mounted'upcn said shaft upon opposite sides of said drum, a plurality of independently operative actuating means rotatable with said drum, each of said means actingy upon a numbering head, means whereby said last named means are successively actuated by said cams, movable stops mounted adjacent said cams respectively and adapted to operatively engage same to normally hold them stationary, and means whereby said stops may be actuated to permit said cams to rotate with said shaft.

` 3. A numbering nachine embodying therein a main shaft, a drum adapted to carry a set or sequence of numbering heads mounted upon and rotatable with said shaft, a plurality of numbering heads mounted thereon, cams mounted upon said shaft at opposite sides of said drum, a plurality of independentlyy operative actuating means rotatable with said drum, each of said means acting upon a numbering head, means whereby said last named means are successively actuated by said cams, levers each having a stop-arm thereon, means carried by said cams respectively adapted to engage one of said stop-arms and means whereby said levers may be withdrawn from the operative relation to said cams to permit the rotation of said cams with said drums.

4l. A numbering machine embodying therein a main shaft, a drum adapted to carry a set or sequence of Lnumbering heads mounted upon and rotatable with said shaft, a plurality of numberingy heads mounted thereon, cams mounted upon said shaft at opposite sides of said drum, a plurality of independently operative actuating means' rotatable with said drum, each of said means acting upon a numbering head, means wherebysaid last named means are successively actuated by said cams, a lever having a stop-arm thereon adjacent each of said cams, means carried by each of said cams adapted to engage with its respective stop-V ar1n,vand a spring projected retard carriedV by said levers respectively and adapted to be engaged by the means carried by said cams prior to their engagement with said stop-arm.

5. A numbering machine embodying therein a main shaft, a drum adapted to carry a set or sequence of numbering heads mounted upon and rotatable with saidV shaft, a plurality of numbering heads mounted thereon, a plurality of independently operative actuating means rotatablewith said drum, each of said means acting upon a numbering head, cams positicned upon opposite sides of said drum,'each of said cams comprising aV section having a circular groove segment therein, a removable' section having a groove therein containing a riser, and means connecting said section whereby a continuous groove is formed and one removable section may be rsubstituted for another to secure one 'or more actuations of the numbering headswith each rotation of the drum, and lmeans carried by said actuating means and movably seated in said grooves.

6; A numbering machine embodying therein a main shaft, a drum adapted to carry a set or sequence of numbering heads mounted upony and rotatable with said shaft, a plurality of numbering heads mounted thereon, a plurality of independently operf ative actuatinglmeans rotatable with said drum, each of said means acting upon ay numbering head, cams positioned upon opposite sides of said drum, each of said cams comprisingl a section having a circular groove segment therein, aremovable section having a groove therein ccntaining a riser, a swinging member mounted upon said movable section and forming'a party of the cam groove, and a plate carried by said swinging member, said cams having an opening therethrough adapted to be closed by said plate whereby said actuating means may be removed through said cams.

7. A numbering machine embodying therein a main shaft, a plurality of drums adapted respectively to carry a set or sequence of numbering heads mounted upon said shaft, a plurality of numbering heads mounted upon said drums respectively, a plurality of independently operative actuating means, rotatable with said clrums, each having a circumferentially elongated head acting upon the corresponding numbering head on each of said drums, whereby said drums may be adjusted r axially, and said 4numbering heads/may be adjusted circum- .-ferentially, of said drums, a driving gear for saidshaft and vmeans whereby said .shaft may be disconnected from said lgear `to permit the movement of said drums independently of said gear.

8. A numbering machineA embodying Y `therein a mainshaft, a plurality of drums adapted respectively to carry a set or sequence of numbering heads mounted yuponv said shaft, a plurality ofnumbering heads mounted upon said drums respectively, a

pluralityy of independently operative actuating Anieans,arotatable with said drums, each having a circumferentially elongated head yacting upon the corresponding ,numbering permit the movement of said shaft independ-I ently of said ygear and the adjustment of the position of said disk relative .to said gear.

9. A numbering machine therein a jmain, shaft, a plurality of drums mounted upon and rotatable with said shaft each of said drumsrbeing adapted to carry a ,setor sequence of numbering heads, and each of said drums having a sequence of openings therethrough, a plurality ofnum-V bering heads lmounted upon each* of said drums adjacent said openings, vbars having circumferentially elongated heads mounted in said openings Vrespectively and adapted to have reciprocatory movement toward and away from said numbering heads, guide disks having radially extending slots adapt`- ed to .receive `theends of saidbars, said disks v Y ybeing mounted upon and rotatable with said shaft, and cams positioned upon opposite sides of'said disks and adapted to receive the protruding ends of said bars whereby said embodying lbars will receive successivereciprocatory movement actuating said numbering heads Y after leaving the printing position and before reaching the inking position.

10. A numbering therein a plurality of rotatable drums adapted respectively'to carry a set or sequence of numbering heads, a pluralityof numbering heads mounted upon said drums respecmachine embodying tively, a plurality of independently operative actuating means, rotatable withvsaid drums, each having a circumferentially kelongated head acting upo-n .the correspond-ing numberinghead on each Aof said drums,

whereby said drums may be adjusted lax-Y ially, and said numbering heads may be adn justed circumferentially, of said drums, the elongated yheads of successive actuating and means ocmmcn to all of said actuating means whereby they are successively operated Vto actuate their respective numbering headsafter 'leaving the printing positionV and before reaching the inking position.

11. In a numbering head an actuating Vmeans' 'comprising an elongated bar havingV soV acting upon said last .named means whereby.Vr

it may be made inoperative toactuate said numbering head while said drum isgrotated.

In Witness whereof, l have hereunto affixed my signature, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, lthis 25th day of February, 1914.l

JAMES H. "REINHARD'I Witnesses A Y F. T. WnNTWoR'ri-i, CLAnion FRANCK.

Ccpes'of this patent may be obtained for five cents eaelnby addressing the'Commssoner yof Patents,

Washington,.D..C. Y

means being of gradually increased length f 

